User blog:Kathleen Riddle/Kathleen Riddle: Diary of A Witch (Chapter 10)
Kathleen Riddle: Diary of A Witch Chapter 10 Knockturn Alley The bell above the door jingled quietly when I walked into Borgin and Burkes. The store was as dark as the alley I just came from. It’s like a dark cloud stayed over the alley. How I managed to end up here, I wasn’t sure, all I knew was that I wanted to get back to Diagon Alley. Everything around me seemed to emit a horrible, dark feeling. I was shaking as I tried to find the counter. When I realized that I’d been circling it the whole time, I looked around to make sure no one saw me, but I was alone in the store. The counter was littered with many of the same items around the store. A glass ball, much like the one fortunetellers use, was perched on a beautiful iron stand. The white cloud began to swirl as I stared into its mist. Many things swept across the clouds. A man and a woman drifted inside the ball, along with a cup, a book, and what looked like a snake. I leaned in, trying to see what was now trying to focus in the mist. Out of nowhere, a large hand snatched the glass ball away from me. I jumped back, and then shivered. The body and face attached to the hand was very frightening. “Who are you?” The man hissed. “I-I, um,” “Why are you here?” he began to come toward me, and I backed away from him. “Who are you?!” He yelled. “My name is Kathleen!” I yelled as he backed me into a corner. “My name is Kathleen, Kathleen Riddle.” I said a little calmer. He had stopped at the sound of my name. Curiosity drifted in his eyes, like they were tiny glass balls. His eyes flickered, and twitched. I presumed he was in a deep thought. “Follow me.” He said in a secret, dangerous voice. I followed him around the room as he locked the door, turned the Open sign to Closed, and closed the curtains. He lit some candles and ducked under the counter. I heard several things, one sounded like a lock being unlocked, and the other was the sound of a door. The man popped his head back up, and said, “Come.” I walked behind the counter, and saw a trap door that had been opened. The man let his feet down into the hole, and climbed down. I followed reluctantly after him. The tunnel we’d dropped down into was damp, and rats scurried away from the light. He led the way down the tunnel, and I followed close behind. Finally, we came to a door. The man dug a chain of keys out his pocket, found an ancient looking skeleton key, and attempted to unlock the door. The poor man was shaking, but managed to get the door open. We walked into the room, and the smell of dampness disappeared. The man went around lighting lamps, and I found myself in a very well kept cellar type room. A large chest was scooted to the far end of the small room beside a bed. I was shocked to see ''RIDDLE ''engraved on the wooden chest. The man beckoned me to him. “This is your inheritance from your father. It was left here many years ago by your uncle.” No one had ever told me anything about my parents, especially not my father. The Malfoy’s were touchy about the subject. “The chest was your fathers, and everything else if from your uncle. He made me promise not to tell you anything else.” His eyes fixed upon a fragment of memory, and he shuddered from the thought of it. He gently gave me a golden key, and told me to open it. I slipped the key smoothly into the keyhole, and it clicked loudly as the chest was unlocked. I opened the top of the chest, and the compressed air whooshed out, hoping to get as far away from its jail. There was a beautiful journal, and a letter. I began to open it, but the man stopped me. “You must not read that here, take everything with you. Here” He took the letter and put it back in the box, and took the key to lock it back. He then pulled out a beautiful wand of oak. He made the chest shrink small enough to be put into my pocket. I took it, and asked him how on earth I was going to be able to make it grow back to its normal size. A question mark appeared upon his brow, and I almost laughed. He said, “Open it only when you have the skill to.” I frowned, but he only shrugged and pushed me back out into the tunnel. He locked the door, and we went back up to the store. As he hid the trap door back, I opened the curtains, and switched the closed sign to open. He said a quick good-bye, and shoved me out into the alley. “Wait!” I said, but he had already closed the door, and turned the sign back around. Two very unfamiliar figures stood down the alley. I didn’t stay long; I turned the opposite direction and began to walk very fast. I heard a loud snap, but it didn’t occur to me to turn around. I didn’t need to though, because almost in the same moment, the two figures appeared in front of me with another loud snap. Oh, how I wish I had a wand. The men walked to me, but I kept walking. “Excuse me.” I said confidently, and tried to pass them, but them moved in front of me. “No can do, pretty.” The taller of the two said. “What do you want?” I hissed. “What that old man gave you.” The latter replied. “I have nothing.” I have always had a tendency to see what is meant not to be. I saw an exchange of glances between the two men, and a quick flinch towards a pocket. I ducked, as a red beam of light shot above my head. I ran in the direction I had originally been walking. The two men had fell hard to the cobbled walk way, as the spell had rebounded, when I turned to look back at them. Just as I heard the normal hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley, I looked back in front of me. I closed my eyes as black robes overwhelmed me. I hit the black object, and toppled over. The object let out a muffled groan. “Ger off me!” I was shoved on to the cobbled stone, and I looked over. A young boy that looked about my age was staring at me. He had shaggy blonde hair, and crystal blue eyes. Freckles dotted his nose and cheeks. “I- I’m s-so so-sorry!” I was trembling, and tears were on the brim of my eyes. The young boy helped me up. “I’m Thaddeus Vega, but you can call me Todd. It’s alright, you were running awfully fast.” His Irish accent made me smile. “I’m Kathleen Riddle. These men were-“ before I could say anymore, Narcissa called to me from across the street. “There you are! I have been looking for you. Come along! We’ve got to buy your books!” “Oh, well-“ “It’s alright! I reckon you’ll be attending Hogwarts?” Todd asked. I nodded my head and smiled. “Me, too. Your mum’s waiting, I’ll see you around!” Todd started off and I went to Narcissa. We walked into Flourish and Blotts, and people were scanning shelves, and shelves of books. I took my list, and hunted down all my required books. When I had found them, I took them to Narcissa and she paid for them. As we walked out, I dropped one of my books. A red headed boy picked it up, and handed it to me. “You dropped this. Oh! Kathleen!” Ron Weasley’s ears turn red, and he handed me my book. “Hello, Ron! How’ve you been?” I asked, hugging him with my free arm. We talked for a good while, and then I went to buy my robes. When we walked in, Draco was walking out with Lucius. “Guess who we just saw?” He whispered to me. “Who?” “Har-“ “Come Draco, time to get you an owl.” Lucius said. Draco forgot all about who he just saw, and bounded off after his father. I was disappointed, but still excited about my robes. A nice lady measured me, and found the perfect match. Narcissa again paid for my bounty, and we went out of the store. “Well, we’ve gotten your books, and now your robes. How would you like to get your wand?” My excitement must have answered her question, because she smiled, and lead me to a quaint little shop by the name of Ollivanders. When we walked in, a small grey haired man looked up from the counter. His eyes sparkled with curiosity, and he greeted me as an old friend. “Ah, Miss Riddle. I have been expecting you, too. The wand I expected for you has just walked out the door. No matter though, let me take your measurements. Which is your wand hand?” “Uh, right.” He measured me shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, then around my head. He told me all about what he put in the core of his wands, and the magical qualities that they posses. Finally, the tape measure dropped to the floor, and Mr. Ollivander went to the wall and brought back a box. “Try this one, Yew, ten and a half inches, unicorn hair, very sturdy.” As soon as he handed it to me, he took it back. “No, no. Here, willow, nine inches, phoenix tail feather, rather flexible- ah no, no.” He hadn’t even let me get my grip on the darn thing. How was I ever going to find a wand this way? After several attempts at what seemed twenty different wands, Ollivander brought one straight from the very back. “Yew, twelve and a half inches, dragon heart string. Beautiful wand, really.” When he handed me the wand, my fingers began to tingle. I waved the wand hopefully, and a beautiful purple stream of glittering sparks flowed from the tip of the wand. “Oh dear, bravo! Bravo! Wonderful! Brilliant! Perfect match!” Narcissa paid Ollivander, and we strode out of the store. She took me to look at the caldrons, and to pick up my other small items. We met Draco, and Lucius back at the pub where we ate. When we finished, we traveled back to the Manor, where the rest of the day was spent packing for Hogwarts. Category:Blog posts